Category Archives: Logistics

Energy Efficiency in Supply Chains

Posted on August 20, 2013 by | Leave a comment

.http://business.edf.org/sites/business.edf.org/files/EDF_Supply_Chain_Energy_Efficiency_Report.pdf_

This report from the U of Minnesota’s Northstar Initiative shows why it’s hard to keep business interested in energy efficiency in the supply chain. And it also indicates that cooperation is essential. There’s too much waste in re-positioning vehicles and containers, and no single firm can manage it all alone.

Cooperation is hard to come by, though. Europe is ahead of us in the US, but that’s because the EU has taken a very strong regulatory position.  Here we don’t have that added incentive.  And supply links are longer here.  But we do have the advantage of extensive rail transport, if we continue to improve the system and eliminate bottlenecks, technical, physical, and administrative.

For instance, here in Will County there are several different permitting systems for overweight trucks. Truckers may divert routes to avoid another payment, or may simply go elsewhere to avoid losing time and money.

 

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Posted in Logistics, Supply Chains, Sustainability

Co-Loading Getting a Fresh Look

Posted on August 18, 2013 by | 2 comments

Co-Loading Getting a Fresh Look | Go By Truck Global News.

What will it take to get the information systems and cooperation necessary to make co-loading a reality as it is in Europe.

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Posted in Logistics, Supply Chains

4 Trends That Could Redefine Distribution in the US

Posted on August 14, 2013 by | 1 comment

You might not have seen this thought piece from Chris Caplice of MIT.  It seems we are betting big money on the import-from-china model, but there are some serious trends that will change things.

Decentralization of production will be good for the Chicago area, where there is already a capable manufacturing workforce. It may make sense to set up here in existing facilities than to build giant factories here. It might even be cheaper than the South.

Making products denser through design means they are cheaper to ship, and makes big factories built for economies of scale but requiring long distance hauls to some markets less practical.  Digitization of products— the shift away from physical product to knowledge based products supports this trend. It makes designs easier to distribute; and it makes products customizable, updatable, and configurable so that you do not need to throw away the hardware.

And now that online buying has taken off, retailers are combining their distribution for all channels, including online and walk in, so that inventory is being pushed closer to the customer.

 

4 Trends That Could Redefine Distribution in the US | Supply Chain @ MIT.

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Posted in Logistics, Strategy, Supply Chains